Innovations Federal Credit Union Rocks the Web With Holiday Video

Innovations Federal Credit rocked out the holidays with the jingle shared 'round the Web.
Innovations FCU CEO David Southall and his staff shook up the stereotypical stodgy image of financial institutions with its holiday video message to members and friends. The $144 million credit union teamed up with Hampton, Va.-based marketing communications firm Raoust+Partners to shoot and produce a lip sync a music video of "Jingle Bells (Bass)" by Basshunter.
"We wanted to deliver our message of 'spark change' via a format that is fresh and entertaining," said Southall. "This is a very unique concept for a financial institution to tackle, and I think it really demonstrates what a great team of people we have, as well as their commitment to step outside the boundaries of traditional thinking to make banking more fun for our members."
The video has been a hit on YouTube (www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIEEK4UYH30), with members and nonmembers alike sharing, tweeting and commenting about the fun video, which was filmed at the Panama City, Fla.-based credit union's newest branch.
"There is absolutely no question that social media is becoming the communication of choice for a younger generation and any number of the outlets-blogs, Facebook, YouTube-are replacing the typical way news is shared and delivered," said Raoust+Partners Business Development Director Kenny Lewis. "This started on a grassroots level and it has become the news. This video has exploded on the Web and what's great is that it's got younger members excited about their credit union."
Lewis says within the first four days of releasing the video, more than 1,500 people had viewed the video and comments posted, ranging from "Hey this is my credit union" to "This is most definitely a place I want to work."
"We're not going to know the hard ROI for a while but the soft dollar of goodwill and awareness it has generated has been phenomenal," said Lewis. "The important message from a credit union perspective is that there are a myriad of opportunities and types of communication to reach your target market. Take a micro view look at the population, discover the places, sights and sounds that mean something to the community and find a personal way to connect and capitalize on that."
--mdigiovanni@cutimes.com